Country music star Craig Morgan, who reenlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and was sworn in on the stage of the Grand Old Opry last weekend, told Newsmax he rejoined the service to boost recruiting efforts in the military.
"I'll be honest, a little selfishly, I had 17.5 years total time in service, and part of the Army creed is 'I will never quit,' and I always felt like I quit, not finishing those last 2.5 years for retirement," Morgan said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" Friday. "But number two, I learned that recruiting is worse than it's ever been in the history of our military."
He added that he decided that if there was some way he could encourage other people, young and old, to serve the United States, "I felt like I should be doing that, especially being blessed with the platform that I have in order to do that."
Last Saturday night, after he performed several hits in his civilian clothing, Morgan, who is 59 years old, left the stage and came back dressed in his military uniform, and was sworn in by Gen. Andrew Poppas, commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, People magazine reported.
Morgan, a staff sergeant, served his 17.5 years in the Army and Army Reserve with the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions as an E-6 Staff Sergeant and fire support specialist and includes Airborne, Air Assault, and Rappel Master among his certifications. He has also received the Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Medal and the USO Merit Award, and is a member of the U.S. Field Artillery Hall of Fame.
Morgan told Newsmax that his service in the Army Reserves, even if he is a country music star, is "no different than anybody else that serves."
"They get up and go to work to their regular jobs," he said. "They do what they do with it, being construction, at the bank, or wherever they may work and then one weekend a month they go serve their country in whatever aspect or whatever profession that they may have chosen in the military."
Morgan said he's going back in as a bandmaster who will be working with U.S. Army musicians around the country, and that he'll also be working with recruiting to try to get people to enroll in the military.
He added that he came from a small town in middle Tennessee, growing up in a lower-middle-income family, and "took everything that my family, everything that I have learned in the military, and applied it to everything that I do in my life."
Morgan also recently released a memoir, "God, Family, Country: Soldier, Singer, Husband, Dad — There's a Whole Lot More to Me," in which he talks about the most important things in his life.
"I still believe that the majority of this country adheres to the values of those three things, our God, our family, and our country," Morgan said.
He added that young people who aren't sure what they want to do can find a future in the military.
"They can spend some time in the Army and they'll be provided resources, opportunities, and skill sets that will really help them in their life further down the road," said Morgan. "Not degrading the value of an education, but there's an education to be gained in living that you can't get in college ... the Army in particular gives you the opportunity to learn your weaknesses and strengthen those weaknesses and take advantage of your strength."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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